


The Drop In

by JackMcGarrett



Series: East Side Story [5]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV), Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Emotional Baggage, Family Angst, Family Issues, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26525656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackMcGarrett/pseuds/JackMcGarrett
Summary: Eric agrees to his father's request but can't do it alone. He doesn't want to drag the Williams side of the family into this mess so he goes to ask another uncle for some help...on the Russo side.~~Working as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, Josh thought that very little could surprise him anymore. Then his nephew Eric drops by and well...consider him surprised.
Relationships: Josh Russo & Eric "E-Train" Russo
Series: East Side Story [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1928590
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	The Drop In

Working as a 9-1-1 dispatcher in LA, Josh likes to think that there’s not much that can surprise him anymore. That doesn’t mean it’s not impossible. 

He was just finished up brewing his coffee and was making sure he had everything he needed when there was a knock at the door. Despite living alone, he looked around to see if he could see a reason he might have a visitor. He has hosted game nights with Maddie and Chim, who sometimes bring Buck or other 118 members. Sometimes they forget something. Or someone at the call center needs to borrow something and he likes to place it in a very visible place so he doesn’t miss it the next morning in the hustle and bustle of his routine. 

But there was nothing. 

Though he’s gotten closure after his attack, he still has moments where he feels..paranoid. An unannounced knock early in the morning? Yeah, that brought up a bout of paranoia. 

There was another set of knocking. It wasn’t harsh or aggressive, so that helped. He ran over scenarios of who it could be and why. Maybe something came for him in the mail, maybe his neighbors Nonna made far too much food than they could eat on their own without it spoiling and were bringing him some. It’s happened before. 

Still, he grabs his phone and calls up Maddie.

_ “Hey, what’s up?” _

“Nothing. Just thinking of stopping by Starbucks on the way in. Wondering if you wanted anything?” Josh asked as he approached the door. 

_ “Are you psychic? I forgot to set my alarm and Chim was already out for the day. I wasn’t able to stop today. My usual please!”  _

He caught most of what she said but as he looked through the peephole, he blanked. “Uh-huh.” And then hung up on her as he opened the door just as Eric was going to knock again. “Eric?”

“Hi...hi Uncle Josh.” 

* * *

“So he didn’t contact you?” Eric asked as he swirled more sugar into his coffee. He sniffed and tried to discreetly wipe away some tears. He’d just finished telling his Uncle Josh what brought him to LA. After he did, he felt shitty that this was the reason that had him visiting. 

“No. But we haven’t talked since before you were born.” Josh answered as he passed over a kleenex to Eric, offering a gentle smile as well. 

The situation was...messed up, to say the least. 

His sexual orientation had been a huge issue for his family as he got to the age where it couldn’t be ignored anymore. Josh didn’t feel he could live a lie and if his family couldn’t accept him then that was on them. He moved out to LA and has been on his own for...far longer than he cared to admit. 

He wasn’t sorry for cutting off the homophobic relatives who would probably laugh at what he’d gone through and thought he’d deserved it. Josh  _ does _ wish he would have kept in touch enough to have been there more for Eric. 

“I’m sorry he asked this of you. It’s…” He wanted to say it was selfish, but it was for another niece or nephew that he didn’t even know about. But asking the son you abandoned to do something like this for another child? It was…

“Complicated?” Eric offered. 

Josh could only nod. They both allowed a moment of awkward silence to pass through as they drank from their mugs. 

“But you’re still going to go through with it?” Josh asked. 

Eric took his time answering, but he eventually nodded. “I know if I don’t, it’ll weigh on me and I couldn’t live with the guilt. I still feel…” He breathed in deeply through his nose before letting out that breath as a deep sigh. “I feel...I wanna know...why...why wasn’t I good enou-” He cuts himself off as a sob breaks through. 

It breaks Josh’s heart and he’s soon holding Eric in his arms. Eric fights it for a moment before he’s weeping in his uncle’s arms. 

They move to the couch and Josh excuses himself for a moment to call into work to tell them he won’t be making it in after all. 

Once he’s back he gives Eric all the time he needs to talk about whatever he wants to talk about. 

“The last thing I told him to his face was ‘Fuck you’.” Eric said with a sad smirk. Different emotions pass over his face before he focuses back on Josh. “I know it’s a lot to ask. Especially with me dropping in out of the blue like this. I’ll make it up to you, however you want! I just...I don’t...I don’t  _ need _ him! I don’t want to see him again. Can you...can you be there to make sure that doesn’t happen?” 

“Of course.” He agreed before he could give it any more thought. He didn’t need more thoughts on it though. Eric was his family and he needed help. It was the fault of Josh’s family and Gabriel’s actions that he and Eric weren’t close enough for this not to feel awkward. But that did leave Eric’s family, however. 

“Eric, this  _ is _ a big deal. We can’t deny that. Are you sure you don’t want to inform anyone from your family? Your mother? Your Uncle Daniel?” 

Eric shook his head immediately. “ _ No _ ! They can’t...this is  _ my _ decision. They...they have a past with him too. But this...this is the closest thing to closure I’m getting. I’ll...I’ll deal with them in the aftermath.” 

With just that word, Josh got a better understanding of where Eric’s mental state was. There were many instances in his life he wished he could have closure to, but he won’t. If he can help Eric reach it, then he already knew he was dead set on helping his nephew. He reached for Eric’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You won’t have to do it alone. I’ll help you with that aftermath too.”

Eric did his best to smile at him but it fell short. “You’re taking on a lot from someone you’ve never met.”

“I’m a 9-1-1 dispatcher. My job is to help. And...we’re family. That’s not really meant much to me before, but it’s not set in stone. Not when it’s with family with as much substance as you, kid.” 

That brought a more genuine smile to Eric’s face. “Can’t believe crappy family’s kept me from such a cool uncle.” 

“I can. They...were pretty crappy.” Josh deadpanned. 

He and Eric shared a look before they burst into a bit of laughter. 

“Wow. That’s the first time I’ve laughed since I got his postcard.” 

“He contacted you about this via a  _ postcard _ ?” Josh demanded. 

“Can you believe it?” Eric asked with a scoff. 

“Wow.” 

* * *

“Shh!” Josh ‘shhed’ Maddie and wouldn’t let her inside. Peeking in towards the living room he saw Eric’s tuff of hair sticking out and he knew the poor kid was passed out, exhausted. God knew how much proper sleep Eric’s had, he didn’t want to wake him. 

“What gives? One moment you’re promising me Starbucks, next thing I hear is you called in last minute?” Maddie questioned, obviously concerned. “For a second I thought that call might have been a clue or code that you were in trouble.”

Josh smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. “Your instincts are amazing. Someone knocked on my door in the morning and I wasn’t expecting anyone. I called you but didn’t want to panic and figured if it was all okay, I’d just show up at work with your usual morning muffin. But something came up, but it wasn’t anything dangerous. For me…” 

“I’m with you so far. Go on.” 

“My nephew showed up out of nowhere.” 

“Your...nephew?” Maddie echoed. Eyebrow raised in a silent question to go on. 

“My older brother, Gabriel. He was married briefly...or maybe not. I’m not sure. But the point is, he had a kid and bailed on him and the mother. He’s been MIA most of his life and now he’s back in his life because his new kid, don’t know how old, needs a transplant.”

Maddie’s face contorted from shock to horror. She tried to find the proper way to form a reaction but she couldn’t find the right order of words. 

“Yeah.”

She finally found something to say and it was, “And I thought my parents were bad…” 

Josh nodded. “He’s going to go through with it. He’s a great kid. Well, he’s not a kid anymore. Wish I could have been there more for him growing up but I can be there for him now.” 

Maddie smiled softly at him before giving him a hug. “Can I help?”

“Actually, yes. He’s agreed to the surgery, but he doesn’t want contact with his father, pre or post-op. I’d love the help of a previous nurse now an amazing 9-1-1 dispatcher to help me make sure his wishes are granted.” 

Maddie smiled brightly, glad to be able to help. “Lucky for you, you happen to know such a gal.” 


End file.
